"Nick Drake: The Life" by Richard Morton Jack
one of the most gifted artists to have ever played among us
…He was effortlessly good at everything…
Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton Jack; 576 pages, Hardcover; Published November 14, 2023 by Hachette Books; ISBN: 9780306834950 (ISBN10: 0306834952); Language:English
…He was effortlessly good at everything…
For whatever reason the soulful and ambient music of Nick Drake avoided my ears back when his debut album Five Leaves Left came out in 1969. Fact is, the record evaded most of us, not just me. Then the albums Bryter Layter and finally Pink Moon followed. Had I heard any of these songs along with the ones already on my turntable, singer-songwriters the likes of Bob Dylan, Shawn Phillips, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, and Van Morrison among so many others, I would have immediately fell in love with his sound. But sadly I missed out on such a great opportunity in discovering his original work. Eventually Drake’s music did find its way to my ears and I was forever changed. The music and spirit of Nick Drake will now, and for as long as I live, stand out unequivocally among my all-time favorites.
…Nick all studied cool and glamour…he kept a distance, not quite engaged…
The quiet and dark-brooding type that Drake proved to be perhaps foretold his eventual downfall. Unlike the charming and sarcastic contrarian Bob Dylan, who seemed to enjoy messing with the heads of almost every reporter of the press, Drake did not do interviews, grew disenchanted with playing to rude live audiences, and nonetheless still expected his music to be discovered based solely on the quality of his tunes. Eventually depression and feelings of failure took hold of him and Drake gradually gave up even trying to succeed in the only vocation that ever really mattered to him. Perhaps if he had known how respected and loved he would one day become, the downward spiral and finality of his life might have turned out differently. But unfortunately, many of his closest friends still believed, due to his fragile state of mind, that Drake could have handled neither the money nor celebrity his success would have attained.
…The only thing that mattered to either of us was that we should try and make him a little happier, bring something into his life. One just longed to do something to help Nick and felt so impotent that one could do little to help him…
In this lengthy and quite detailed book the biographer, Richard Morton Jack, continually put forth Drake’s immense despair and self-destructive tendencies, no matter the extent of determined efforts to help him and the undying love of his friends and family. Drake pretty much resisted almost anything anybody attempted, or suggested, to make his life more manageable and happy. Not only did Drake refuse to reliably take the prescribed medicine that might have helped him, he also rejected the cognitive therapy his doctors offered him until it all became a bit too late to save him.
‘He’d sleep on the sofa and be gone when we woke up,’ Diana continues. ‘He had the same sort of alertness that a wild animal has — he’d prick up his ears and bolt if someone said something or made a noise that he didn’t like.’
Drawing nearer to his terrible and unfortunate end Nick Drake could not even sing and play his guitar at the same time. Even his voice had become relatively shattered. But he still proved to be an amazing talent who attacked his own mental illness with an unorthodox vengeance by composing distinctly haunting and somewhat esoteric, though unfinished, songs. Even those few remaining uncompleted compositions felt and sounded promising if only Nick Drake had established the will to go on. But he didn’t. And we serious appreciators of this era in music lost one of the most gifted artists to have ever played among us.
What a beautiful tribute in a book review.
I once watched a documentary about Drake and someone said that sometimes when he performed he couldn't even face the audience. I note from your review that people around him felt that he could never have coped with fame. In that case his story was heart-wrenchingly tragic but at least he left us his amazing music. Poor Nick. Thank you for highlighting him, he's a giant.
Exactly right, "one of the most gifted artists to have ever played among us."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYU-8L06rfI
Read →